- Todd Boehly co-owns the ‘unauthorised ticketing website’ Vivid Seats
- Chelsea fans have hit out at Boehly for his involvement with the website
- LISTEN NOW: It’s All Kicking Off! Does the Premier League REALLY need to look at goal celebrations?
Chelsea fans have accused Todd Boehly of a ‘breach of trust’ after it emerged the billionaire co-owns a website involved in reselling tickets to Premier League games, including his own team’s.
The Chelsea Supporters’ Trust released a strongly-worded statement in reaction on Thursday in which they write their members have lost faith in their club tackling the ‘ongoing exploitation’ of ticket touting, while calling on Boehly to cease selling to tourists.
Vivid Seats is an US-based online marketplace of which Boehly is both an investor and director. Namechecked on the Premier League’s list of ‘unauthorised ticketing websites’, it allows foreign-based users to flog tickets for up to tens of thousands of pounds.
Chelsea themselves have previously condemned ticket touting on their own website, and the CST said in their statement: ‘Vivid Seats currently lists hundreds of Chelsea FC General Admission tickets at significantly inflated prices. As these tickets are not sold by the Chelsea FC website, they are considered by the club to be “illegal sales”.
‘Within the recent CST ticket touting survey, many CST members suggested that Mr Boehly’s connection with Vivid Seats is a “breach of trust” and could be a conflict of interest.
‘These recent reports are very disappointing, and it is within Mr Boehly’s best interests to investigate these issues and address supporters’ concerns – we do not believe it is appropriate for any Chelsea tickets or wider Premier League tickets to be listed on the Vivid Seats website.’
The CST conducted a survey in which 68 per cent of supporters feel their club is not doing enough to prevent ticket touting which comes at the expense of loyal fans.
Their statement added: ‘The alarming findings of this survey have indicated that supporters do not have faith or trust in Chelsea FC to combat ticket touting and that the club has failed to protect its loyal supporters from the ongoing exploitation of ticket touting.
‘It is vital that the club provides immediate reassurances to supporters and must demonstrate that they are taking effective action to combat ticket touting through greater communication, stricter resale policies and sanctions, and additional enforcement against illegal ticket selling.
‘Despite warnings from the CST, the trend of data indicates that supporters have become increasingly dissatisfied with anti-touting measures in place at Chelsea FC over the past two to three years. Now is the time to take proper, meaningful steps to address this. This is not simply about ticketing, this is about respecting and protecting the lifeblood of Chelsea FC – its supporters.’
Mail Sport approached Boehly’s representatives and Chelsea.
Meanwhile in other ticket news, Chelsea have set what is believed to be the priciest ticket in the Premier League by slapping a £12,500 price tag on a padded seat behind the home dugout for either their game against Liverpool or Manchester United later this season.
That is in the hospitality section known as the ‘Dugout Club’. Supporters with deep enough pockets can purchase one of the £12,500 tickets from Chelsea’s official website. Included in the package is a signed shirt, a greeting with the team as they arrive, and signature cocktails.
